Crosby Spooks Ducks, Penguins Snap Six-Game Skid On Halloween With 2-1 Overtime Win

On Halloween night, the Pittsburgh Penguins rolled into PPG Paints Arena hoping to spook the Anaheim Ducks and come away with a huge win to snap their six-game losing streak.

And, in the end, they got the treat and not the trick.

The Penguins defeated the Ducks in overtime, 2-1, thanks to two goals by their captain, Sidney Crosby. The Penguins were the dominant team for most of the evening, registering 46 shots on goal and overwhelming the Ducks with their forecheck.

Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic earned the win, stopping 22 of 23 Anaheim shots and coming up big near the end of the contest.

“Ned made some big saves late there when we did make some mistakes,” Crosby said. “So, we got some big plays, and defensively, we were much better.”

Here are some thoughts and observations from Thursday’s game:

– I’ll get to Crosby in a second here. But Erik Karlsson was nothing short of phenomenal tonight, and he was the team’s best player.

Karlsson registered six shots on goal, but he attempted 21 – yes, you read that right, 21 shot attempts – which is just absurd. He was all over the ice in all three zones, and the Penguins dominated with him on the ice in all situations.

His Corsi was a team-best 78.6 percent, and the Penguins generated a whopping 3.32 expected goals-for while Karlsson was on the ice.

He and Pettersson each had a late giveaway that prompts some thanks for Nedeljkovic, but overall, that pairing was spectacular. Shot attempts were 46-14 with the pairing on the ice, and they had a 77.2 percent expected goals share.

Just an outstanding game from both of them, but, especially, from Karlsson. He was on another planet tonight, and the Pens need to see this version of him with more consistency.

– Kris Letang had quite the shift during the first period.

The Ducks were getting what were, really, their first good looks of the game. There was a scramble around Nedeljkovic, and the puck ended up behind him after a shot by Brian Dumoulin. Letang cleared it out of danger with his stick but right to Leo Carlsson, and he blocked a second attempt.

Then, the puck squirted to Troy Terry in the slot for a third attempt. Letang blocked that one.

Finally, about a second later, Dumoulin was wide open at the right circle, and Letang sprawled over feet-first and got a piece of yet another shot headed for a wide-open net. The shot went off the post.

This was a stellar defensive shift from him. He’s struggled so far this season, but boy, did he have a good shift there.

– The Penguins had no shortage of high-danger chances tonight. They were the better team, and they had a 46-23 shot advantage.

Anaheim goaltender Lukas Dostal was very, very good for the Ducks.

This is, really, the first time this season you could say that a goaltender singlehandedly almost beat the Penguins. Dostal is only 24. He looks to be a legitimate starting goaltender in this league.

He earned the game’s third star. A spectacular performance from him.

– Speaking of which, Nedeljkovic made an outstanding save with about four minutes left. He also made a breakaway stop inside two minutes, coming up with a huge save on Cutter Gauthier off a Penguins’ turnover.

This game very well could have ended in heartbreak for the Penguins had Nedeljkovic not come up big at the end. He made the saves when he needed to tonight.

– Michael Bunting had a strong performance tonight. He didn’t end up on the scoresheet, but he very well could have. He was getting to the dirty areas, and he looked like the player the Penguins acquired last season.

Head coach Mike Sullivan gave him a glowing endorsement by comparing him to a beloved former Penguin tonight.

“Just getting to know him as a person, he reminds me a lot of Patric Hornqvist,” Sullivan said. “‘Horny’ used to do the same thing, he’d come back to the bench and talk to himself, and he’d get mad at himself. That’s just one indictation for us that he’s engaged, and he’s invested emotionally. And, usually, when players are invested like that, they’re going to find their best game.”

If Bunting keeps playing the way he did tonight, he’ll find the back of the net.

– The Penguins, for the third straight overtime game this season, had a really strong showing in the extra frame. They were dominating possession, controlling pace, forcing turnovers, and working hard defensively on extended shifts.

Sullivan said that he and assistant coach David Quinn spent an extensive amount of time going through film and figuring out a way to get the best out of the Penguins during the overtime period since it was a weakness last season. He said that there needed to be more of a commitment to defending when they don’t possess the puck, which opens up opportunities for their big guys to create offensively.

This was evident on the overtime goal by Crosby. Cody Glass – who deserves an enormous amount of credit for making the play happen – was on an extended shift and won a puck battle along the boards near the Penguins’ bench, forcing a turnover. This allowed Crosby to chip the puck to himself and have the breakaway chance that led to the winning goal.

It’s early, but it sure seems like the Penguins have figured something out in overtime. And this could be huge for them at the end of the season if they can get those extra points.

– Now, to the captain.

This was the best I’ve seen Crosby look all season long. He was a puck hound all night. He was in his office below the goal line and creating on the forecheck. He scored a beautiful deflection goal to put the Penguins up, 1-0, and he was relentless in puck pursuit, possession, and protection.

And his overtime goal was just vintage, nasty stuff from him. He came to a complete stop in front of Dostal, deked him, and flipped the puck over his shoulder for the winner:

This is the version of Crosby that everyone is familiar with. I expect to see a lot more of him in the coming stretch, especially with the very high level that his line is playing at right now.